1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card-dispensing device wherein a plurality of telephone cards or similar comparatively thin prepaid cards are stacked and housed in such a manner as to be able to dispensed one by one from the very bottom of the device. In particular, it relates to such a card-dispensing device which offers greater compactness and improved dispensing speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic card vending machines which sell telephone cards and similar prepaid cards are normally provided within the casing with a card-dispensing device which dispenses cards in accordance with the amount of money inserted.
In general terms these card-dispensing devices consist of a card-housing unit in which a plurality of cards is stacked and housed, and a card-dispensing unit which ejects one by one the card which is at the very bottom of the stack of cards housed within the card-housing unit.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 63-82246 previously filed in Japan by the same applicant of the basic Japanese application on which the present invention is based describes improvements which have been made to the slide which runs backwards and forwards within conventional card-dispensing devices. According to this publication, the slide engages during its forward run with the trailing edge of the bottommost card in the card-housing unit, and retains a horizontal attitude parallel with the card as it begins pushing the card towards the dispensing slot. Once it has pushed the card part of the way, it alters its attitude to an inclined one in order for the slide to be separated from the card. This is accomplished by allowing one end to fall freely, after which this inclined attitude is retained for a short time while the slide runs backwards. Finally, when the slide returns to its initial position, it simultaneously regains its horizontal attitude parallel with the cards. This makes it possible to avoid unnecessary contact between the slide during its inward run and the card which is now bottommost in the card-housing unit and next to be dispensed, thus reducing scratches and other damage to the cards as far as is feasible.
However, the conventional card-dispensing device which is described above makes use of a configuration whereby the slide, which engages with the trailing edge of the card and pushes it in a horizontal direction, falls freely under its own weight during its forward run. This means that any adhesion of dirt to the member which supports the slide, or to any other member, not only impedes its smooth free-falling action and renders it unstable, but has the added disadvantage of causing the slide to lock, thus interfering with the stable dispensing of cards.
Another difficulty inherent in the conventional device is the slowness with which the slide modifies its attitude. This results from the configuration whereby the slide falls freely under its own weight, and stands in the way of any further improvement in the speed of dispensing cards.
Yet another problem with the conventional device involves the slide regaining its horizontal attitude parallel with the cards after executing the inward run in inclined attitude. The structure adopted is such that a lever is employed to lift one end of the slide against the other, which requires a fair amount of space in the direction in which the slide runs backwards and forwards, thus presenting an obstacle in the way of designing more compact card-dispensing devices.